B9251 Rifleman Norman Victor Woodley was born in Swansea (later part of Toronto), Ontario, on 17 November 1918, the son of Marquis Lorne Woodley and Edith May Brooks. He had two sisters and one brother and attended Runnymede Baptist Church. Woodley attended Swansea Public School and Runnymede Collegiate and left school at the age of 16.

On 26 April 1941, he married Doris Ellen Bignall.

In November-December 1940 he served his mandatory 30 days training with the Royal Regiment of Canada.  Woodley worked as a shipper at Canadian General Electric Co. Ltd. when he enlisted in Toronto in the active service army in the Ordnance Corps on 9 April 1942.

He trained in Newmarket and Camp Borden and arrived in the United Kingdom by January 1943. Woodley had numerous training and duty postings in the UK and arrived in North West Europe on 20 November 1944 and was posted to The Queen’s Own Rifles on 30 December.

Rifleman Woodley was killed in action in Germany during Operation Blockbuster on 26 February 1945, aged 27.  He is buried in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, grave reference VIII. F. 16.

His family had the following engraved on his marker:

BLESSED ARE THE DEAD
WHICH DIE IN THE LORD
AND THEIR WORKS
DO FOLLOW THEM